The San Francisco calamity by earthquake and fire eBook

Professor A. O. Louschner, of the students’
observatory of the University of California, thus
records his observations:

“The principal part of the earthquake came in
two sections, the first series of vibrations lasting
about forty seconds. The vibrations diminished
gradually during the following ten seconds, and then
occurred with renewed vigor for about twenty-five
seconds more. But even at noon the disturbance
had not subsided, as slight shocks are recorded at
frequent intervals on the seismograph. The motion
was from south-southeast to north-northwest.

“The remarkable feature of this earthquake,
aside from its intensity, was its rotary motion.
As seen from the print, the sum total of all displacements
represents a very regular ellipse, and some of the
lines representing the earth’s motion can be
traced along the whole circumference. The result
of observation indicates that our heaviest shocks
are in the direction south-southeast to north-northwest.
In that respect the records of the three heaviest
earthquakes agree entirely. But they have several
other features in common. One of these is that
while the displacements are very large the vibration
period is comparatively slow, amounting to about one
second in the last two big earthquakes.”

If we seek to discover the actual damage done by the
earthquake, the fact stands out that the fire followed
so close upon it that the traces of its ravages were
in many cases obliterated. So many buildings in
the territory of the severest shock fell a prey to
the flames or to dynamite that the actual work of
the earth forces was made difficult and in many places
impossible to discover. This fact is likely to
lead to considerable dispute and delay when the question
of insurance adjustment comes up, many of the insurance
companies confining their risk to fire damage and
claiming exemption from liability in the case of damage
due to earthquake.

Among the chief victims of the earth-shake was the
costly and showy City Hall, with its picturesque dome
standing loftily above the structure. This dome
was left still erect, but only as a skeleton might
stand, with its flesh gone and its bare ribs exposed
to the searching air. Its roof, its smaller towers
came tumbling down in frightful disarray, and the
once proud edifice is to-day a miserable wreck, fire
having aided earthquake in its ruin. The new
Post Office, a handsome government building, also
suffered severely from the shock, its walls being badly
cracked and injury done by earthquake and fire that
it is estimated will need half a million dollars to
repair.

FREAKS OF THE EARTHQUAKE.

One observer states that the earthquake appeared to
be very irregular in its course. He tells us
that “there are gas reservoirs with frames all
twisted and big factories thrown to the ground, while
a few yards away are miserable shanties with not a
board out of place. Wooden, steel and brick structures
hardly felt the earthquake in some parts of the city,
while in other places all were wrecked.